Cosmo Valdemar

Was that the one with the comically mis-aligned strings?

You are, surely?

It's got a human mouth! A HUMAN MOUTH

Bloody hell... Can I resist?!

Defnitely approach Ashdown if the shop can't (or won't) help. In fact I would probably go straight to them. They've always gone out of their way to help me in the past.

And it sounds fantastic when they do.

Maple cap necks have a separate maple fingerboard glued on to the neck. Most maple necks are usually one piece, with the truss rod inserted from behind - hence the skunk stripe. From my own experience I find basses with maple cap necks have a bit more going on in the upper mids and highs - a more aggressive growl than usual.

This. I am in discussions with a fine luthier to have a custom bass built soon which will have a 33.25" scale, but that's because it will be 'paying homage' to a very particular instrument... I do own a couple of 30" basses, which are glorious, but are the exception to the norm for me.

Oh dear oh dear! Getting a replacement or a refund?

Oh dear! Looks like it's been grazed rather than a poor lacquer... could be wrong though. As for fitting the machine heads, I wouldn't attempt it myself but luckily I know an excellent guitar tech!

Maple cap neck too, IIRC the only Fender bass that has one. At least outside of the Custom Shop. I'm surprised Fender don't make a bigger deal of it - in fact, I don't think they even mention it having one. Congrats on the new bass 😎

I went for these: https://g-gotoh.com/international/product/gb640.html They will fit, but they won't line up with the screw holes, so a bit of drilling will be required. It's a bit annoying as the Vintage Pros sold in the US have larger plate Wilkinsons, and the Gotohs line up perfectly. Over here, the Vintage Pros use the smaller plate Wilkinsons designed to fit Music Man basses.

If you ever met me, you would know that to be true I would never consider adapting my playing style to fit around the covers, unless they had a functional need to be there - a horseshoe Rick pickup, for example, is going to be there whether you like it or not so it's something to get used to! Not that I imagine owning a vintage RM1999 anytime soon... That said, I've been looking through some old photos and came across a pic of a Burgundy Mist Fender Jazz I used to own, resplendent in bridge and pickup covers. Now that was really something. Seller's remorse.

I considered it but decided it would be for visuals only, as they do nothing but get in the way when I'm playing. They are also rather expensive! I have purchased some long stem tuners and a tug bar, both yet to be fitted, but I will be sure to post a picture when they're on!

Amen!

Interesting... Is that a combo and extension cab?

I'd love to hear the Excess in that sort of band! Do you have any recordings?

Sounds great. I'd love to see his settings.

Helpful.

Thumbs up from me!

Ringo missed part of a tour in 1964 due to illness and was replaced with a session drummer, Jimmy Nicol. It's true that some of the later Beatles recordings feature McCartney on drums, but by this time the band was fragmenting and it was not uncommon for a particular Beatle to record songs without much help from the others. Of course, it was also standard practice for the rest of the band to swap instruments from time to time in the studio, often due to recording limitations of the day - Harrison playing bass when McCartney played piano, for example. The occasions when the drumming was handled by someone other than Ringo should not be seen as an indictment of his abilities.

I don't know, if it's anthing like the old BBC sound effects records there will be hours of fun to be had!